This application relates to bone anchors and more specifically to bone anchors adapted for fixation within soft bone.
A common surgical procedure is the attachment of soft tissue to bone. This is typically achieved by embedding a bone screw or anchor into the bone adjacent the soft tissue and then approximating the soft tissue to the bone via a length of suture attached to the anchor and passed through the bone. In some procedures the anchor itself is attached to the soft tissue and embedded into the bone to affix the soft tissue to the bone.
Such procedures rely upon achieving strong fixation between the anchor and the bone. However, in many instances the quality of the bone is insufficient for adequate fixation of the anchor. For, instance bone mineral density decreases with age and many older patients lack sufficient bone quality for a typical procedure. Additional anchors can be employed, such as the use of a second row of anchors in a rotator cuff repair, but the quality of the bone under the second, lateral, row is often lower still. Larger diameter anchors are also employed to improve fixation but that adds additional trauma to the procedure. These problems are of particular concern in rotator cuff repairs where bone quality at the site of the cuff reattachment is all too often poor but the stresses on the rotator cuff require a strong fixation to ensure proper healing.